


P.S. From the Other Side of the Postcard

by kalespia



Category: Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Book store!AU, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Slow Burn, You've got mail!AU, flower shop!au, furthering my kanayou agenda, kanan is a flower shop owner, mainly kanayou, multi ships, you is from a big book store chain
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-06
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2020-10-11 07:40:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20542514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kalespia/pseuds/kalespia
Summary: Kanan has started her new life, owning a quaint flower shop in a small seaside town.You is from a chain book store and wants to buy out the flower shop, destining the two to be enemies.But on paper?That's a different story.





	1. Bird of Paradise

_Dear poet,_

_Did you know birds of paradise flowers represent joy and freedom? That’s how I’m feeling today, but you probably already guessed that. In a few months you’ll know about all the flowers and their meanings, but then what will I talk about? Maybe I’ll teach you about the symbolism of different types of birds afterwards. Then I can start with the bird of paradise and it’ll be full circle._

_I’m starting a new life this week, and it’s truly exciting. I might be busy, but don’t worry, I’ll always make time for my favorite pen pal. I hope the bird of paradise represents your week, too._

_Truly,  
A carnation_

* * *

A little freedom goes a long way.

But maybe, just _maybe_, an abundance of freedom can turn reckless.

Perhaps Kanan shouldn’t have let Chika and Yoshiko handle the decorations of the shop. Instead of a quaint, homey feeling that Kanan had asked the two girls to convey, one side of the shop was various shades of bright orange and yellow, while the other half was covered in ominous candles and gothic paraphernalia. It looked like the sun and moon were fighting to occupy the sky at the same time.

“I tried to stop them, Kanan-chan,” Riko sighed, clasping her hands together.

“Thank you, Riko-chan. I probably should’ve known better than to put the two of them in charge,” Kanan said, scratching her head in contemplation.

“What do you think, Kanan-chan?” Chika asked excitedly, bouncing up to the older girl.

“It’s divine, isn’t it?” Yoshiko chirped.

“I… think I’ll put Riko in charge of decoration,” Kanan said bluntly, but counteracting the statement with a warm smile. “Take a lunch break, thanks for your hard work.”

Both girls seemingly brushed off Kanan’s disdain for their decoration skills and were instead excited by the aspect of getting food. They nodded and ran off to whatever cafe was nearest to the building.

“I’ll take care of it, Kanan-chan,” Riko nodded, disappearing into the back room to start redecorating.

“Thank you!” Kanan called after her.

Collapsing on the nearby check-out counter, Kanan let out a puff of air. For the past month, she and her employees had been working hard on reopening the town’s local flower shop, Sea Breeze Bouquets. It had formerly been her grandmother’s; when she passed she gave Kanan her shop. It had been the pride and joy of her late life, and her spirit permeated every corner of the shop. Even when it had been closed for the past few months due to the transfer of ownership and renovation, the shop stood as a symbol of the small seaside town for kindness and helpfulness. Not to mention, it was placed in a very convenient corner that was eye-catching for passing tourists.

Now, Kanan had never run a business before. The closest she had come to was selling lemonade at a stand when she was eleven years old, and when she possessed the cuteness factor. She still had that cuteness factor, but it was much easier to persuade people to buy overpriced lemonade when you’re eleven than in your mid twenties.

One upside is that Mari, her childhood friend, had her cafe, Bayside Bakery, connected to the flower shop and they were integral to each other’s businesses. Not to mention that Kanan had no problem hiring old high school friends still living in the area as her employees.

Despite all the stress of reopening the store, Kanan was excited. She loved flowers: the meanings behind them, the thought put behind each bouquet, the lovely aroma they carried everywhere they went. She could spit facts about flowers all day—much to the confusion of her friends growing up.

She was sure the opening of the flower shop would bring her the happiness she so desperately wanted.

* * *

While she had been expecting many things on opening day, something she was _not_ expecting was a business offer.

She had never thought twice about stereotypical looks that certain professions held and dismissed it as unfair judging. She even just came to work in jeans and a semi-nice blouse. But it was hard to miss the woman who stepped into their store. She already stood out amongst the tourists who were all dressed casually, in her sharp grey suit and black heels. She also had an intense gaze that landed directly on Kanan, and she had never felt so underdressed.

“Are you the owner of this establishment?” the woman asked.

“Yes, how may I help you?” Kanan said, trying her best to stop her voice from wavering.

“I’m Watanabe Tsuki, owner of Numazu Books. This is my cousin, You. She’s also a representative of the company,” the woman said pointedly, gesturing to another girl behind her.

Kanan had been so wrapped up in the intimidation that the business lady exuded that she didn’t notice the girl who had accompanied her. She was smaller in stature, with choppy grey hair and much more casual clothes. She blended in much more than her cousin did, and had a more carefree and pleasant aura. Kanan found her gaze lingering on the girl longer than she realized, as the girl’s blue eyes looked at her curiously.

“Is there something on my face?” she asked, cocking her head.

“No! I just didn’t realize you were together,” Kanan laughed, hand reaching to brush the back of her head in a nervous habit. “I thought you were a tourist.”

“Tsuki likes overdressing,” You said, rolling her eyes towards her cousin.

“It’s important to present yourself when making a proposal,” Tsuki shot back.

“What proposal?” Kanan asked, now more on edge than before.

“I’m here to propose a merger. Numazu Books thinks you would be a great addition to our business. We buy you out, and you become a subsidiary store of our company,” Tsuki stated, placing a manila folder on the counter.

Kanan couldn’t help but have her mouth agape. Everyone in the store seemed to freeze in their place. From her peripheries, she could see her employees peering curiously from their respective corners. She could even see Riko and Mari stop making lattes from behind the cafe counter to stare.

What did a bookstore want to do with a flower shop? If anything, she thought that it would be better to ask the cafe to become a subsidiary store for them. Why did they want her store?

Finally managing to close her mouth, Kanan put on her best forced-but-not-quite-angry smile. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but we’re not for sale.”

Tsuki clacked her tongue, disappointed. “Alright, but think about it, okay?”

She turned on her heels and left the store, customers rushing to make a clear path for her. Kanan followed her with her eyes, in a daze. She had _just_ opened, for goodness sake. Perhaps she should take it as a compliment that a big chain store already wants to buy her out. Too bad they didn’t know how stubborn she could be.

“I’m sorry about her. She just took over the company, she’s kind of stressed,” You piped up.

Kanan’s gaze snapped back to the other girl. She had been so focused on Tsuki’s offer that she had forgotten that You had come with her.

“Understandable, I suppose,” Kanan sighed. She was, after all, in the same position.

“It’s a nice shop you have here, by the way. Flower shops are pretty rare nowadays,” You said, rocking back on her heels.

Kanan raised an eyebrow. She knew that she was just trying to make friendly conversation, but Kanan couldn’t help but think that they were playing some sort of good cop bad cop game to try and get her to fold. But she felt that You was making a genuine effort to be nice, and Kanan found herself entranced with her soft smile and bright blue eyes.

“It was my grandmother’s. Just trying to carry on the legacy, I suppose,” Kanan shrugged.

“Oh! That’s nice. My cousin and I just moved here, so I guess I’ll be seeing you around, uh…”

“Kanan!” she yelped, realizing she never introduced herself. She coughed awkwardly and repeated herself more calmly, “It’s Kanan.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Kanan-san,” You smiled a dazzlingly bright smile.

She left and Kanan followed her with her eyes like she did with her cousin before, but this time she felt more pleasant.

* * *

_Dear flower,_

_You know that I love anything that teaches me something new, it doesn’t matter what it’s about. And frankly, I love all the flower facts. Perhaps if I come across any book on flowers I can send it to you, and we can plant a garden of all of them together._

_I’ve just started a new life, too. Funny how that works, isn’t it? But I’m glad you got the new address of my PO box. It seems we’re pretty close to each now, eh? Here’s a little haiku about the new town, maybe you’ll guess where I am now._

_Sea breeze and sea salt_  
The ocean breeze blows calmly  
Reading on the beach 

_Always,  
A bookworm_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! this is my first multi-chapter work, so any comments to improve myself would be appreciated!
> 
> this story is based partly off a real life situation that somewhere I worked at over the summer is going through, and partially off the movie You've Got Mail with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. no knowledge of the movie is required to read this though :)
> 
> this is mainly going to be a kanayou fic, but there will be multiple POVs for the other ships, too!
> 
> hope you enjoy!


	2. Alstroemeria

_Dear poet,_

_Today’s flower: alstroemeria. It symbolizes wealth, fortune, and prosperity. My new life is off to a good start! Work is going well, and I hope it’s the same for you. It started with a shocking offer, but your last letter comforted me._

_By the way, it seems as if you now live by the seaside, as if your haiku wasn’t clear enough. I have quite the experience living by the water, and it’s wonderful. It always smells clean with a hint of salt. I’m sure you’ll love it!_

_I hope you are wealthy in happiness._

_Truly,  
A carnation_

* * *

The handwriting was imprinted in You’s mind. It was elegant and curvy, but not too extravagant that it was unreadable. Everything about the letter was beautiful: the vintage stamp in the envelope corner, the red wax seal imprinted with a cursive M, the thick stationary the letter was written on, and of course the sign-off in glittering gold ink.

You couldn’t help but think about the girl who the handwriting belonged to. She was probably beautiful, like the moniker she used to sign off with. Was she in love with a girl who she’s never seen before? Possibly.

You’s handwriting, on the other hand, was short and stocky and quite boxlike. It resembled a sailor’s handwriting, which she probably inherited from her father. Hopefully her pen pal didn’t think she looked like her writing.

A year ago, You had signed up for a pen pal program for people in Japan. The goal of the program was for people to become friends with one another, but also to bring together people from different regions of Japan. You had been sending letters to the other girl all throughout her last year in college, and receiving the letters had become the highlight of her day. In fact, when You moved back to her hometown of Uchiura after graduating, she rented a small apartment near the post office just so she could check her PO box more frequently.

It was ridiculous that You would develop feelings over some girl who she’s never met, but just getting to know her through words was enough for You.

Not to mention the abundance of flower facts.

You’s mind immediately reverted back to the flower shop she had gone to last week. She vaguely remembered the previous owner of the shop; an old lady who’s smile never seemed to leave her face. All she knew was that the shop was a local icon.

When the board of directors suggested opening a new shop in Uchiura, Tsuki was all for it. But when they wanted a prime tourist location within the city and targeted the flower shop—it had still been closed at the time, and they were unaware of the transfer of ownership—You became apprehensive. However, Tsuki had never lived in Uchiura, only in the nearby town of Numazu, where the bookstore chain originated from. So Tsuki was set on having that spot for their new store, even after they received the news that a new owner was reopening it.

You wasn’t able to convince her otherwise; she was, afterall, just a stockholder in the company that shared the family fortune. She had promised Tsuki to help her with the company after it had been passed down to her, but her advice could only convince her of so much. Tsuki had eventually appointed You to be the new general manager of the Uchiura store.

You couldn’t get the image of the new owner’s shocked face after her cousin made the offer out of her head. You had tried to dress as casually as possible to show that she was not like her cousin, and perhaps offer some sort of condolence. Tsuki wasn’t usually that stern; You figured it was probably the stress of managing the company getting to her. But the flower shop owner didn’t know that.

Kanan. The name rolled off You’s tongue so easily.

She was as pretty as the flowers in the shop, and smelled even better, if that was possible.

“You already have a crush on someone!” You scolded herself.

But Kanan’s smile still lingered in You’s mind.

* * *

“They’re what?”

Kanan couldn’t believe her ears.

Numazu Books weren’t able to acquire Sea Breeze Bouquets, so they took their next best option: buying the store right next door.

“My sister bought the space across the street, and we’re moving the restaurant there. It’s bigger, and Numazu Books offered a lot of money for our current location,” Leah stated, matter-of-factly. Kanan took no offense to her straightforward tone; she had always been like that and she’s gotten used to it.

“What Leah-chan means to say is that it was too good to pass up,” Ruby squeaked from behind Leah. She always had an uncanny ability to decipher what the blunt girl really meant to say.

“They’re opening up in a month. I think it’s reckless, opening up that quickly. Stupid chain companies probably don’t know anything about smalltown businesses,” Leah huffed. Kanan supposed it was her attempt at reassurance.

On one hand, Kanan was furious that Numazu Books had managed to weasel their way into the town, especially since the Kazunos’ restaurant had been next to Sea Breeze Bouquets for nearly a decade now. On the other hand, Kanan knew the space was pretty small. Big enough for a bookstore, but too small for a popular restaurant.

“They’re a bookstore, though, right Kanan-chan? It won’t hurt us?” Ruby asked tentatively.

Kanan frowned slightly. Most of her employees were old friends of hers, but all of them were younger than her and still in college or just out of college. She couldn’t have them out of a job already.

But Ruby was right. Numazu Books was a _bookstore_, not a flower shop. How much harm could they do?

“We’ll be fine, Ruby-chan. Business has been great lately. Plus, you can never have enough flowers,” Kanan winked, and was relieved to see the tension seep out of the younger girl’s shoulders.

And if Kanan was anything, she was stubborn. The shop would _not_ go under.

* * *

“The usual, Chika-san?” Riko asked.

Chika was so absorbed in staring at the way the barista’s hair moved as she made coffee that she almost missed the question.

“Um, yes! Please!” Chika yelped, snapping out of her daydream.

Riko laughed. It sounded the way cherry blossoms would sound if they laughed, Chika thought.

“It’ll be ready in a moment,” Riko smiled, moving away from the register towards the coffee machines.

Chika reluctantly moved to a table near the counter, her eyes still following the maroon-haired girl. Everything about her was elegant: the way she moved, her quiet laughter, the way her hair moved. Okay, maybe Chika had a little bit of a crush on her.

Chika had been frequenting Bayside Bakery for a long time. She was childhood friends with Kanan, and they would always hang out in the cafe that was attached to Sea Breeze Bouquets after school, occasionally helping Kanan’s grandmother out with work around the shop.

But Chika hadn’t gone to the cafe every morning. That is, until Mari hired the soft-spoken honey-eyed girl as a barista.

At first, Chika was just intrigued with the girl because she became popular throughout the town for her latte art. Chika had decided to get a latte for the first time in her life just to see what the hype was about. She fell head over heels when the girl handed her the cup with a beautiful foam mikan adorning the top of the drink.

Unfortunately, Chika hated the taste of hot coffee. It was much too bitter for her liking, so she resorted to just ordering caramel frappuccinos instead. She was disappointed at first, because Riko’s coffee art was limited to hot drinks only. But over time, she realized that Riko left little doodles on the whipped cream of her frappuccinos in the form of caramel syrup. She fell a little harder.

Chika usually considered herself a confident person. But when Mari confronted her about the idea of asking Riko out, her brain shut down. She’ll settle for the syrup art for now.

“Chika-san,” Riko called out, placing a cup on the counter.

Chika bounced up to the counter to take her drink. She was still dismayed at the fact that Riko used the _san_ honorific, no matter how much she insisted on using _chan_.

Before Chika could return to her seat, Riko placed a hand on Chika’s.

“Did you hear about what they’re doing next door?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is coming out earlier than I planned because of some help from my lovely friend, cal!!! it's a little short, so I apologize for that, I'm planning on making chapters longer as the story goes on :)
> 
> also a little introduction to the beginnings of new ships ;)
> 
> the title of the story is also just the literal translation of the song ps no mukougawa (given I changed it from postscript to postcard), also suggested by cal <3
> 
> hope you're enjoying it so far!


	3. Anemone

_Dear flower,_

_I’m glad my last letter could provide some comfort for you. Hopefully my haikus are contributing to that feeling._

_Do you think that falling in love with a place all over again is possible? I certainly feel that way._

_The ocean seems especially beautiful around this time of the year. It makes me want to bundle up, sit on the sand, and read a good book. Autumn is coming around the corner again._

_A gentle pillow_  
The sun softens for red leaves  
Everything is warm 

_Always,  
A bookworm_

* * *

Kanan was stressed. And Mari could tell.

“Kanan-chan, they’re just having a soft opening tomorrow! It’s nothing to worry about, really!” Mari said, waving her hands around emphatically as she spoke, garnering a few odd glances from other customers in the restaurant.

Leah was right, the space across the street was much bigger than the restaurant’s previous location next door. Leah was also right about the store opening within a month; in fact, they had prepared the store so quickly that they were ahead of schedule. Kanan wasn’t quite sure how that was possible. It had taken her nearly two months to reopen the flower shop, and all the shelves and equipment were already in place. But she knew corporations wanted nothing but money, and they wanted it as fast as possible.

“Kanan, if you keep squeezing that cup, there will be green tea all over the table,” Sarah said breezily, setting down two bowls of ramen in front of the two girls. “I don’t feel like mopping the floor yet.”

“Sorry,” Kanan mumbled, setting the cup on the table.

“I don’t know if you’ve been working out more or if it’s just stress, but your shoulders look bigger. Oh! I know! My dearest Dia-chan recommended a masseuse that you can go to!” Mari said.

“Thanks, but I don’t need a massage,” Kanan sighed.

Last week, Riko had quietly come up to Kanan to inform her of Numazu Books’ plan for their new store. It would feature a gift shop that sold, _get this_, flower-themed merchandise. Could they be any more obvious?

And on top of that, Chika had done some spying—which Kanan had _not_ condoned, but was grateful for anyway—and found that they were also setting up a coffee cart outside their premises.

“Shouldn’t you be more worried than I am?” Kanan inquired. Even though she’s known Mari for basically her entire life, it was still hard to tell what her friend was truly thinking.

“Me? Worried about their little coffee cart? Kanan-chan don’t be ridiculous. Unless they steal Riko away from me, they’re no competition for my shiny concoctions!” Mari laughed, a competitive glint in her eye.

“Calling your coffee concoctions makes you sound like a witch,” Kanan huffed, poking at her ramen mindlessly.

“Well then I’m obviously the good witch of the south, and they’re the wicked witch of the west,” Mari said.

“I thought Glinda was a princess?”

“Kanan-chan you need to pay more attention to your literature! She’s clearly referred to as the good witch!”

The conversation had gone off the rails, but it presented some semblance of comfort to Kanan. Mari was right; she had no need to worry about her business, and neither did Kanan. She felt kind of silly worrying so much about the shop opening next door. It’s not like they were selling bouquets. Plus, Kanan had heard that You, the cute grey-haired girl, was appointed as the bookstore’s general manager.

Without realizing it, Kanan found herself thinking about the girl more than she would have liked. Her bubbly energy and kind demeanor had washed over Kanan like a wave. Kanan told herself it was just refreshing to have a pleasant person strike up conversation with her after the shock of a straightforward business proposal. But she knew people didn’t usually think about mundane conversations a month after it happened.

Maybe the bookstore opening wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

* * *

She was not prepared for this.

Hanamaru grew up with books, not coffee machines. But she needed a job. And if that meant having to maneuver her way around these scary and loud mechanisms from hell, then so be it.

It didn’t help that she felt like a traitor. She knew Sea Breeze Bouquets were apprehensive of the opening of Numazu Books, and she felt like she should be helping the independent flower shop, not some corporate bookstore. But nothing could have hid the excitement Hanamaru had when she heard a bookstore was _finally_ opening in Uchiura. No more camping out in the town library to frantically read books, because god knows that she would never return them if she checked one out.

When she had seen the flyer for the applications to work at the bookstore, she was ecstatic. She quickly—well, as quickly as she could type, which was not very fast—emailed the store and was given a time to do an interview. Dressed in her best outfit that consisted of a long skirt and a comfortably oversized sweater, she met the general manager and CEO of Numazu Books, who both had very similar mannerisms but had very different demeanors. Hanamaru had poured out her overflowing love for literature during the interview, a sentiment which the manager, You, appreciated. However, unbeknownst to Hanamaru, that flyer she had spotted outside the temple she lived near had been posted for a solid week before she emailed and they already had several applicants interviewed for jobs.

Hanamaru was dismayed at this fact and tried to keep her face neutral, but failed because You noticed and frowned, deep in thought.

“Well… There is an alternative that we can offer you,” You said, as her gaze flickered over to Tsuki, the CEO. “We’re opening up a coffee cart outside the store, and we’re still looking for baristas.”

Hanamaru had accepted on the spot. Maybe that was a mistake.

She was now faced with several shiny metal contraptions that supposedly made coffee, sun glinting off them and pricking Hanamaru’s skin like angry little lasers. She had already accidentally burnt her hand trying to get hot water to come out of one of the spouts, much to her dismay. Everytime she failed to get one of the machines to work she felt like the mechanisms were growing larger and larger, making her feel small.

Soon she was distracted by furious whispering near the cart, a distraction she indulged herself in to get away from the cursed machines. Poking her head out from over the counter, she spotted a flash of orange hair trying to desperately hide behind a display of flowers outside the front of Sea Breeze Bouquets (and failing at it).

“You know I can see you, zura,” she called out.

Instead of an orange-haired girl popping out from behind the display, a long-haired girl with defiant violet eyes stood up, hands on her hips and bottom lip jutting out. She was probably aiming to look bellicose, but Hanamaru couldn’t help but think she looked like a caricature of a goth girl, especially with her fully black and lacy outfit. She let a small snort.

“What are you laughing at? We’ll destroy you!” the girl huffed.

“Nothing! Your outfit is nice,” Hanamaru said, deflecting the invitation to fight.

“Yoshiko! Kanan-chan said not to fight with the employees, it’s not their fault!” another girl said, whispering angrily from behind the flower display. Hanamaru assumed it was the orange-haired girl she spotted from earlier.

“I’ve told you it’s Yohane! And I’m not fighting, I’m just stating our stance on the situation!” goth girl hissed.

“Well, our stance is that we’re just trying to sell books,” Hanamaru said, amused.

“You’re probably selling gardening books! That interferes with our business! And the coffee cart? We have a cafe, too, we can see what you’re doing!” Yoshiko (or Yohane, Hanamaru wasn’t sure which), yelped.

“Hey, I’m just an employee here! I’ve got no control over this, zura,” Hanamaru said, putting her hands up in mock surrender.

“Whatever! Just know the demons are not on your side!” Yoshiko declared, twirling around angrily and marching back into the neighboring store.

“Demons? Wait, if they’re not on my side isn’t that a good thing?” Hanamaru pondered aloud.

“Sorry!” the other girl yelled out, finally revealing herself from behind the flower display and bolting back into the store.

Instead of being flustered at the exchange, Hanamaru couldn’t help but wonder why she was so amused by the girl dressed in all black. She looked vaguely familiar, but she was sure that was just her mind making things up to rationalize the situation.

Hanamaru hoped she wouldn’t have to deal with too much confrontation while working at the coffee cart, because that was definitely _not_ her forte. She already had to deal with the evil coffee machines.

Yeah, she was not prepared for this.

* * *

Tsuki’s face hurt.

She frowned so much in the past month that she was sure her face muscles had become stronger. But she had grown used to that. She was now forced to smile to oversee the soft opening of the new Uchiura branch of Numazu Books. She’s always heard people say that frowning uses more muscles than smiling does, but constantly smiling hurt more than constantly frowning did.

Frankly, she didn’t know how You did it. You was perfect as the general manager; she had a bright and relaxing smile, was good at talking to customers, and most importantly, didn’t exude a menacing aura like Tsuki did.

Tsuki wasn’t always so brooding, though. You often visited Tsuki in Numazu, and they were like two peas in a pod when they were younger. But the harsh reality of life affected the two girls differently. You kept her bright and bubbly demeanor, while Tsuki let the cruel nature of business infuse with her soul. She was just thankful that You treated her the same as she did when they were kids—like a friend.

“Don’t your feet hurt, Tsuki?” You asked.

In fact, Tsuki’s feet _did_ hurt. She had been standing and helping around the bookstore for the past three hours, but had been so focused on smiling for customers that she hadn’t noticed how much her feet hurt.

But she was the one in charge now. That means showing no weakness.

Once again forcing a smile, Tsuki responded, “I’m okay, You.”

You frowned. She should’ve known better than trying to fool her cousin.

“Take your lunch break, Tsuki. My employees are more than capable of holding down the fort for today,” You said, shooing the older girl away.

Soon, she found herself pushed outside the bookstore.

Not knowing what to do, she found her eyes settling on the restaurant across the street. She remembered coming into the restaurant’s former space, where the bookstore now stood. The owner had been kind enough, although her younger sister seemed more hostile towards her. She made up her mind to eat there, and her stomach growled in agreement.

“Welcome! How many in your party-”

The hostess stopped as she set her eyes on Tsuki. It was the hostile younger sister.

“Um, one, please,” Tsuki stumbled over her words, mentally slapping herself for acting flustered.

“Leah-chan, don’t be so hostile towards customers,” the owner scolded, appearing next to the hostess stand.

Tsuki had never been more relieved to see someone. She was like an angel coming to her rescue.

“But Sarah-”

“Nope, I don’t want to hear it! She’s a customer like anyone else, so we treat her like one,” Sarah said, shooting Tsuki an apologetic glance.

“Fine,” Leah seethed, grabbing a menu from the stand and whipping her head towards Tsuki. “This way.”

Tsuki awkwardly followed the violet haired girl as she lead her to a small table in the corner. She was pretty sure that from the way the furniture was set up, nobody would be able to see that Tsuki was even there.

“Enjoy your meal,” Leah said tautly, forcing a smile onto her face that barely reached her cheeks.

_Great_, Tsuki thought. She’s made herself public enemy number one in this town. That should definitely be an accomplishment in the history of company owners—make a whole town hate you with your first business move.

“Sorry about my sister,” Sarah said, reappearing with a notepad.

“Oh, that’s okay. I understand why she dislikes me,” Tsuki sighed.

“She’s close friends with one of the employees there, so she’s more worked up about this than other things,” Sarah explained, offering a gentle smile.

Tsuki then ordered her food and when it came out, Sarah once again came back over to Tsuki’s secluded table. But to Tsuki’s surprise, Sarah placed down the plate and also invited herself to sit opposite to her.

“Um, aren’t there other customers?” Tsuki asked, feeling her cheeks flushing rapidly.

“You’re the only one here, and to be honest I’m quite bored. Plus, you’re eating at four in the afternoon so the only other people who would come in are usually senior citizens,” Sarah said, a teasing lilt in her tone.

“Oh, okay.”

“For a big business lady you give in very easily,” Sarah said, amused.

“I do not!” Tsuki yelped, the redness in her cheeks now surely climbing its way up her ears.

“Don’t worry, I’m not here to make you uncomfortable. But I hope you know that Kanan-chan is much more stubborn than she looks,” Sarah smiled.

Tsuki was probably meant to feel threatened. Instead, she felt like she finally met someone who was willing to tell her the reality of things.

A grin formed on Tsuki’s face. And this one didn’t hurt.

“I’m sure she is.”

* * *

The soft opening was a success, much to Kanan’s dismay.

It had directed all the foot traffic towards Numazu Books, and Sea Breeze Bouquets had simply gotten the leftovers of their customers, most of who did not buy anything. Despite Chika and Yoshiko standing outside and yelling (or what they called persuading) passerby to come into their shop. It was weighing heavily on Kanan.

Flopping down in her desk chair, Kanan found herself staring at a chest on her desk. She opened it and scanned the rows of letters neatly organized by date. Each letter was adorned with some sort of nautical decoration, which complemented her pen pal’s sailor-like handwriting. The letters were something that gave Kanan peace of mind; no matter what she did in her life, she’d always be able to come back to the letters.

It had become more exciting recently, too, as it seemed that they now lived near each other. Kanan found herself wondering if any of the customers that had come in to the store were her pen pal. And every time she found herself thinking that, her heart rate would pick up a ridiculous amount.

She shared more about her feelings with a girl she’s never met before than she did with her own friends. It’s amazing what anonymity does to her.

In fact, she decided to do that right now. Picking up a pen and the nearest piece of stationary, she wrote her next letter to the girl that she confided in for everything.

_Dear poet,_

_As much as I love books, I have to say they’re bringing me a lot of pain right now. Running a business is tough. I do, however, hope you keep enjoying them._

_The next coming months are going to be tough, so I apologize in advance for the somber mood that I might have during my future letters. I truly hope that my feelings don’t ruin this experience for you, I know nobody wants a downer as an anonymous pen pal._

_But that being said, my flower for this letter is the anemone. It carries the feeling of being forsaken, which encaptures how I’m feeling at the moment, but it can also mean anticipation._

_Here’s to the anticipation of better days ahead._

_Truly,  
A carnation_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's a long chapter for y'all :] it's mostly just an intro to the other ships in the fic, so I hope you enjoy!
> 
> updates will probably be slower over the next couple of weeks, I have college midterms I have to study for (unfortunately)


	4. Daisy

_Dear poet,_

_Being an adult is hard work, wouldn’t you agree? I wish I could truly be a carnation, where the only worry I have is blooming and the fruits of my labor bringing eye-catching beauty to others. What would you be if you were reincarnated?_

_This letter’s flower is a daisy. Besides being a cute name, it represents loyal love. I picked it because I hope it conveys our friendship, and the loyalty we have to each other through the form of these letters._

_Truly,  
A carnation_

* * *

It was starting to get chilly outside.

Kanan was happy that she could finally wear her sweaters without sweating to death, but it also meant slow business for the shop. Cold weather was no good for flowers.

Not that there weren't any flowers during autumn, but they didn’t catch people’s attention as much as the big and bright flowers of spring and summer. It was hard trying to sway people to buy the tiny blossoms of goldenrods and russian sages, and it definitely didn’t help that their meanings weren’t the most compelling either.

Ever since Numazu Books’ opening at the tail end of summer, business for Kanan’s store had slowly dwindled. People would usually come in and browse, but end up departing for the bookstore next door. It was getting harder to attract new customers, and harder for Kanan to keep reassuring her employees.

It hurt Kanan to look at Ruby’s hopeful eyes or Yoshiko’s confident stance and tell them things were going to be okay. She couldn’t bear to let them down. She would be failing them, herself, and most importantly, her grandmother’s legacy. She had trusted Kanan to take care of the shop, and Kanan didn’t plan on letting her down.

Thankfully, Mari’s cafe was doing astronomically well. It helped bring more customers into the flower shop as they waited for their coffee and pastries. Kanan had expected this; as the weather got colder, the flower shop would slow down but the cafe would get more business. An unexpected wrench in the yearly business cycle was the bookstore opening next door, which was something Kanan was not expecting, and she needed to do something to boost publicity for the shop. The foot traffic from the cafe was good, but not nearly enough to keep the store’s profit up.

The situation called for an emergency staff meeting. After closing the store for the day, Kanan stood in front of the cluster of younger girls who looked up at her curiously.

“We need ideas, ladies,” Kanan stated bluntly. “We need to boost the publicity for our store majorly.”

“Maybe we can team up with Leah-chan’s restaurant? Do an offer where if people buy a certain amount here they get a discount on food?” Ruby piped up timidly.

“Oh! Great thinking, Ruby-chan!” Chika exclaimed.

“Not to be a downer, but wouldn’t that cause more hassle for Sarah and Leah? It’s profitable for the flower store but not as much for the restaurant,” Riko countered gently.

“Oh! Also great thinking, Riko-chan!” Chika exclaimed again, doing a complete 180 on her stance.

“Riko’s right, I can’t ask Sarah for that…” Kanan sighed. “Plus, that could drive business away from the cafe.”

“I could offer tarot card readings with every purchase!” Yoshiko said proudly.

“And if they get a bad reading? I don’t think people want to be told a bad fortune while buying flowers,” Mari said, raising a brow.

“Ridiculous! My readings are super appealing!” Yoshiko huffed.

As silly as it seemed, Kanan sympathized with the girl. In a way, it was similar to Kanan arranging bouquets based on certain flower’s meanings. But Kanan was more tactful when it came to telling customers about the meanings behind certain bouquets, a filter which Yoshiko most likely lacked.

Silence settled over the group. Kanan chewed on her lip subconsciously, deep in thought. She was mentally beating herself up. Usually, she was good at finding solutions to problems, no matter how extreme they may be. The fact that her mind was blank when she needed it the most was killing her.

The solution presented itself with a soft chime of bells and the street lamps’ light filtering in through the opening door.

“Did I interrupt something?”

Mari got up from the chair she was sitting in and flung herself into the newcomer’s arms.

“Dia-chan! You actually came!” she squealed, squeezing the girl like a vice.

“Mari, I can’t breathe,” Dia wheezed. “Also, I don’t see why you insist that I pick you up. You live within walking distance from here.”

“So you would leave your lovely girlfriend alone to walk by herself in the dark? How mean, Dia-chan!” Mari whined.

“Dia-chan,” Kanan smiled warmly. It was rare that she saw the girl, as she had a demanding job further in the city, but her presence was always calming.

“We were just talking about how to solve the woes of Kanan-chan’s business,” Mari said dramatically, clutching onto Dia’s arm.

“Ah, is business slow? That should change after the fall festival, right?” Dia said, looking at Kanan.

“The fall festival?” Ruby asked.

The recognition of the name seemed to click in everyone’s heads at the same time.

“The fall festival!” they all yelled in unison.

“Dia, you’re a genius!” Kanan exclaimed.

Dia looked at them like they were all crazy.

“This festival happens every year, how did you forget that it’s coming up?” Dia inquired.

“I guess running a business had me a little scatter-brained,” Kanan admitted sheepishly.

“Oh, we could have a huge display at the festival!” Chika said.

“And the cafe could supply treats for a booth!” Mari chimed in.

The cold had brought something good other than the sweater weather.

* * *

“What is coming up?” Tsuki asked. You was afraid she might step on her jaw if she moved towards her.

“The fall festival,” You repeated, furrowing her brow. “It happens every year. Do you not remember going when we were kids?”

“No, sorry. I have other things I’ve been thinking about rather than some silly party,” Tsuki huffed.

You knew that she didn’t mean to be rude, but she had so many good memories tied to the local festival that it hurt that she would just dismiss it so easily. The fall festival was the last thing You and Tsuki had done together before sending Tsuki off to college and was also probably the last time You had seen her cousin be carefree.

Instead of voicing her disappointment, You masked her emotions with a look of pondering.

“Anyways, the fall festival is a good way to new customers. All the locals will be there, and if we have a good booth we could attract more regulars,” You said, putting on a more business-like tone. Tsuki would be more inclined to listen to her that way.

“Ah, is that the one where all the businesses have a display?” The lightbulb went off over Tsuki’s head.

So she did remember. You wanted to tell her off for being so dismissive of the event, but held herself back. It was no time to get in a fight with her cousin.

But the lightbulb turned into a dark cloud quickly.

“If it’s a fall festival, won’t the flower shop have more of an advantage?”

You sighed. “Tsuki, you don’t always have to view them as competition. It’s not like they’re trying to impede on our business. They don’t even sell books, they sell flowers.”

“You’re right, but you can’t blame me for being suspicious of them when I constantly see their employees snooping around the store,” Tsuki shrugged.

She had a point. You had caught several of the younger employees peeking through the windows of the store to monitor how their business was going. The one girl who was usually adorned in all black was especially a problem, as she had a strong presence and could redirect possible customers to the store next door. She hadn’t told that to Tsuki, though. You was acutely aware of the general sentiment of the locals, and how most of them already viewed the bookstore in a negative light. She didn’t need Tsuki trying to publicly fight with the employees of a more-respected shop.

The one employee of the flower shop You hadn’t had a problem with was the owner, Kanan. In fact, she had barely seen the girl since the bookstore opened. Not that it was much of a concern to You, but it was curious that the owner of the shop didn’t seem to be making any stronger promotion moves. Even though You had barely caught a glimpse of the shop owner, she could still distinctly remember the excited glimmer in Kanan’s eyes when she talked about running the shop. It was cute.

“We should have a meeting with the employees about the display we should have. The flower shop will probably have a big promotion push, and we can’t be outdone,” Tsuki said, scribbling down a memo for You.

You looked up, startled. Had Tsuki read her thoughts?

_No_, she thought bitterly. _She’s too preoccupied with this imaginary competition to read my emotions_.

“You got it,” You nodded, burying her thoughts in exchange for compliance.

* * *

“It smells so good!” Ruby squealed.

An array of bright orange and yellow flowers were fanned out in front of her, presenting a floral-scented sunset. Ruby and Chika had been put in charge of picking out all the wilted flowers that Kanan had collected to use for the fall festival’s display. In order to match the mood of the season, Kanan had picked out flowers in every shade of red, yellow, and orange that was in their inventory. All those boxes of flowers were then dropped off unceremoniously by the loud sputter of Kanan’s old pickup truck to Ruby’s house, and now the flowers were all spread out in Ruby’s backyard.

Chika, who was sifting through the selection of flowers, nearly blended in with the presentation. She lifted her head to agree, and looked as if one of the flowers had come to life.

“This is going to be the best display at the whole festival!” Chika beamed, full of confidence.

“I wouldn’t count us out yet.”

Both girls whipped around to see the newcomer, who adorned their signature pigtails.

“Leah! Did you come by to help?” Ruby said, pleased to see her friend.

“I can, if you want,” Leah shrugged. She tried to play it off as a nonchalant offer, but Ruby knew her chic exterior was preventing her from perhaps saying it in a less vague way.

“Yes please! My back will probably kill me if Ruby and I try to do this all by ourselves,” Chika whined.

“First, Ruby can you come inside with me? I need to talk to you about something.”

Ruby smiled at her friend, but her expression was unreadable, even for Ruby. It panicked her a little bit, and she felt her heart beating faster the further they walked away from Chika.

“Are you okay?” Ruby asked timidly.

“What?” Leah responded, surprised. As soon as the two of them were alone, Leah allowed emotions to show on her face.

Ruby let out a relieved sigh. It was a roller coaster being friends with Leah sometimes.

“I just wanted your opinion on these dishes,” Leah said, dismissing Ruby’s sigh as her being dramatic.

Ruby couldn’t help but let out a laugh. Leah knew that Ruby would always compliment her cooking, but Ruby appreciated that she still took the time to come over to her place to ask for her opinion anyways. A tiny part of her hoped that she had come over just to see her, and just used the dishes as an excuse. But she would never admit that.

“Are these for the festival?” Ruby asked, eyeing the variety of dishes placed on the kitchen counter.

“Yes, Sarah wanted another opinion before we finalized our menu.”

“I’m no food critic, though. And you already know what I’m going to say about your cooking,” Ruby said.

“I know. That’s why Sarah went to go ask Mari-san.”

There was an indecipherable glint in Leah’s eye. If Ruby hadn’t known better, she would’ve mistaken it as an attempt of flirting. But Leah was always straightforward with how she felt, and wasn’t the most receptive of teasing, let alone dishing it out. Even after years of becoming close with the blunt girl, Ruby still found herself floundering at attempts to read her emotions. Sarah had even complimented her once at how well she was able to read her little sister, but Ruby wasn’t too sure of the validity of that praise.

Instead of trying to read into what Leah’s comment was supposed to mean, Ruby took a bite of each of the dishes.

“They’re really good!”

“I know,” Leah smirked.

“You brought food and didn’t tell me?” Chika gasped, stepping into the house.

“I wanted Ruby to have a chance to try them before you inevitably ate it all,” Leah defended herself.

“Hey, I share food!” Chika pouted, before shoveling the aforementioned food into her mouth.

“Anyways, how’s the shop’s festival planning going?” Leah asked, leaning against the counter.

“I think it’s going really well! We came up with a lot of good ideas that will hopefully show people that the shop is still in good hands,” Ruby nodded. She couldn’t help having a worried look, though.

Leah noticed it. As much as Ruby was good at reading Leah, Leah didn’t fall behind at her ability to read Ruby’s emotions either.

“Locals love the shop. It could probably help if Kanan-san had a stronger presence, though,” Leah said, her tone softening slightly.

Ruby agreed. She loved Kanan, but the older girl had a tendency to throw herself into work rather than try and connect with the regular customers. They kept coming back, thankfully, and Ruby felt that it was mostly attributed to the passion Kanan showed when she explained the bouquet arrangements she made for them and when giving recommendations for flowers. And her tendency had intensified since Numazu Books opened up besides them.

“I just hope the festival will give the shop the boost it needs for the rest of the year,” Ruby said.

“It’ll definitely be a competition this year, especially with the bookstore in town now,” Leah said, a hint of resentment in her voice.

“I’m not too worried about them,” Chika piped up through a mouthful of food.

Ruby wished she shared Chika’s mindset.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> when I said chapter updates would be slower in the last chapter, I didn't intend for it to mean a 10 month gap in between updates...
> 
> thank you to everyone who continued to comment on this story even though I haven't touched it in a long time, it really motivated me to keep writing!


	5. Freesia

_Dear flower,_

_Apologies for the late reply. Things have been hectic in my work life lately, and I’m finding it harder and harder to do more than just shower and fall asleep as soon as I get home. I will admit that I still nervously sift through all the mail I get to see if any of the letters are from you._

_To answer your question from the last letter, if I were reincarnated as anything I would wish to be reincarnated as someone who grew up with you._

_A clear glass window  
Curious birds look through it  
No one notices_

_Always,  
A bookworm_

* * *

You didn’t know if her hands were shaking from the cold or from how nervous she was.

Despite the envelope being dropped into the mailbox already, her heart was still pounding. Had she been too obvious in her letter? She had narrowly skirted around blatantly saying “I have a crush on you” through the whole letter. All to someone who she had never seen before.

In a brazen move, You had written the letter as soon as she got home from work. It had been full of customers who requested books with only a vague idea of what the titles were, planning for the festival to curb public opinion about them, and Tsuki being more curt than she usually was. Basically a big headache the whole day. That headache then translated into a more bold response letter to the girl who called herself a carnation.

As You’s mind lingered on the pen name of her pen pal, she approached the bookstore. Her gaze flickered to Sea Breeze Bouquets at the thought of flowers. They hadn’t opened yet for the day, but You did see the owner hauling in some boxes. It was the first time she had seen her in quite a while and You found her eyes pause on her arm muscles and she carried several large boxes at the same time. A fit flower shop owner. Interesting.

“See something you like?”

You snapped out of her stupor to realize she had just been standing and staring at Kanan for the past few minutes. In an attempt to muster up some sort of answer, she let out an uncharacteristic squeak. Why was she so flustered?

In order to save face, her thoughts reverted to the last letter she received from her flower-loving pen pal. She had mentioned that she hoped daisies could represent their friendship, and the loyalty they had to each other.

_Friendship_, You had thought, a little dismayed. Sure, they were friends, but after her last boldly written letter, she was maybe hoping that they could be a little more. Like see each other face to face, for example. What better way to accompany that sort of proposal with a flower?

“Are you opening soon?” You asked. It was a dumb question; You knew exactly when they opened and it wasn’t for another hour.

Kanan furrowed her brow, placing her hands on her hips. There went those biceps again.

“Not to be rude, but I think you know we haven’t opened yet,” Kanan responded after a pause.

Yup, it was a dumb question.

“If you want to look around while I sort through the deliveries, though, feel free to,” Kanan shrugged. “From one store owner to another.”

“I’m technically the general manager,” You corrected.

“Eh, close enough.”

Kanan disappeared back into the store, and You found herself following her timidly. You had spent her life doing as she wanted boldly, yet she was apprehensive about stepping into the flower shop she had been working next door to for the past couple of months. As soon as she stepped inside, she was greeted with the overwhelming scent of flora. The pinks and purples of the summer flowers had been replaced with warmer hues of orange and yellow, mixing with the morning sun to cast a soft glow over the whole shop. Although the flowers gave the sense of the shop being overgrown, the gentle music playing and weathered furniture still gave off a cozy and friendly feeling. It was a stark contrast to the bookstore: the store was chock-full of sleek new steel shelves and benches, with everything in the same color palette of dark browns and blacks. They were just following the decorating of all the other Numazu Books in the country, and it all gave off the same sort of big-city, industrial feeling. You found that she much rather preferred the gentler vibe of the flower shop.

You wandered around the shop, not really sure what to look for. All her knowledge about flowers and their meaning came from her pen pal, and so far she hadn’t seen any of the ones that she had written about. She then spotted an anomaly in the corner of her eye; a splash of color deviating from the majority orange and yellow selection. Nestled behind some bigger bouquets was a bucket full of smaller purple flowers, probably placed there not to mess up the aesthetic of the rest of the shop.

“Those are asters.”

You jumped and whipped her head around. Due to the narrow paths in the shop, Kanan was standing a lot closer than You had anticipated. She felt the blood rushing up to her cheeks and turned her attention back to the purple flowers to try and hide her reddening face.

“They’re cute. What do they symbolize?” You asked.

“They symbolize patience,” Kanan answered, quicker than You had expected. “I’m surprised you want to know the meaning. Most people just buy flowers because of how they look.”

“I know a little bit about the meanings of flowers,” You shrugged.

“Did you read a book about it?” Kanan teased.

You paused. She actually never thought about reading a book about flowers. Maybe she liked being surprised with a new flower fact with every letter she received.

“No, I have a friend who likes flowers a lot, that’s all,” You said. A fond smile found its way on her face.

Kanan reached over You’s shoulder to grab one of the asters, and You caught a whiff of a vaguely chocolate-scented lotion. Curious. She would’ve thought Kanan would use a floral-scented lotion. Not that she was thinking about what kind of lotion she uses.

You watched as Kanan carefully examined the flower she picked out. It was smaller, but still vibrant in color. Perfect size to send in a letter.

“Here, consider this as a freebie,” Kanan said, handing the flower to You.

You took it graciously. “Thank you. I should, um… go open my own store now.”

“See you at the fall festival!” Kanan called out after her as she made her exit.

* * *

Hmm. It was too bitter. And the ice was way too chunky.

Riko poked at the apparent frappe she had ordered from the coffee cart outside Numazu Books. This wasn’t her betraying Bayside Bakery or anything, more like what Yoshiko liked to label as “surveillance of the enemies.” To be honest, Riko wasn’t at all worried about the coffee cart taking away business from the cafe. Even though she knew she was lacking in her abilities as a barista, she was still proud of the latte art that she had become known for in the small town. The coffee cart just sold your typical run-of-the-mill coffee items, nothing that let them outshine the bakery’s more specialized items, courtesy of Mari’s out-of-the-box ideas.

Additionally, it seemed like the coffee cart’s main employee was a girl a bit younger than Riko who was not experienced with the different machines and coffee-making techniques. Riko felt a little bad for her. She knew what it was like to be thrown headfirst into something you’ve never experienced before. It was exactly how she felt when she moved from a big city to the quaint seaside town.

Thankfully, Riko’s quiet demeanor perfectly suited the town, much better than the big city. There, everyone moved quickly and it constantly felt stuffy and boxed in. Here, everyone knew each other and took the time to stop and appreciate the small things. But people in Uchiura knew each other a little _too_ well. For example, Mari wiggling her eyebrows at Riko everytime a certain orange-haired girl came into the cafe to order her usual caramel frappe. It wasn’t her fault that she noticed that Chika scrunched her nose with displeasure when she first ordered a latte. It wasn’t her intention to spend a couple hours that night practicing making art out of whipped cream instead of foamed milk. And it definitely wasn’t her objective to take her break right before Chika came into the cafe at her usual time so she wouldn’t be sloppy with making her drink. Riko’s reasoning is that she takes the break specifically at this time so she doesn’t fall asleep during the rest of her early afternoon shift. Even if that reasoning was more of an excuse.

Usually Riko didn’t spend her breaks surveilling the bookstore. She would much rather spend it in the cafe’s backroom reading. Yes, reading and not subtly watching Chika wrap up bouquets. Definitely not doing that. But, she had to admit that it was nice now having a whole bookstore filled with several nooks and crannies to read without being distracted by certain bright-eyed people. Not that she would ever be caught enjoying herself in the bookstore.

She knew Kanan told them not to view the bookstore as a competitor and had not endorsed Yoshiko’s declaration of war on the neighboring business, but it was hard not to when it was hitting the flower shop so harshly. Kanan tried not to show it, but Riko could see the tension in her shoulders. The most she interacted with her own employees was when she was briefing them on the daily schedule for the shop. She wasn’t even sure if she took a lunch break.

Peering into the window of the bookstore, Riko watched the store’s manager, You, ring up a customer. Her smile wrinkled her eyes into crescents and she could faintly hear the loud, bubbly laugh as she engaged in friendly conversation with the customer. If You had any troubled thoughts, she certainly hid it well. Kanan could learn from her, Riko thought.

“I’m sorry, sir, one moment please!”

Riko ripped her attention away from You to look at the coffee cart, where the employee was struggling in taming the beast that was the blender. So that’s why her frappe was so chunky. In a moment that was half out of selflessness and half out of pity, Riko made her way to the coffee cart to help the poor girl.

“Excuse me, um… Hanamaru,” Riko said, spotting the girl’s name tag. “You’re starting the blender on too high of a speed.”

“Hmm? Oh! Yes, thank you, zura!” Hanamaru gasped.

After blending the drink at a much steady speed and giving it to the slightly annoyed customer, Hanamaru bowed to Riko. Her face was red with embarrassment, which Riko felt a pang of sympathy for.

“Thank you, Riko-san! I’m not very good with machines,” Hanamaru said sheepishly.

Riko’s eyes widened. “You know me?”

“Oh! Yes, I used to go to the cafe a lot. Your coffee art is really famous! Well, as famous as it can be in a small town.”

It was Riko’s turn to blush. Of course she knew her skills were well-known, but it often slipped her mind. It was hard to think of herself as some sort of town celebrity rather than just another plain barista.

But as soon as Riko was about to thank Hanamaru, someone else interrupted them.

“Traitor! Mingling with the enemy!”

“Yoshiko, they’re not the enemy,” Riko sighed, turning to face the girl.

If Yoshiko was a porcupine, her spikes would be all frilled out. Her steely gaze was directed at Hanamaru, however, instead of Riko. Hanamaru was just staring back with a slightly amused expression, not at all intimidated by Yoshiko’s cold demeanor. Riko looked curiously between the two of them. Did they have some sort of history?

Glancing at her watch, she realized her break had already been over for about five minutes. Riko gave an apologetic nod to Hanamaru before rushing back into the cafe, making sure to grab Yoshiko by the arm to drag her back inside behind her. When they were back inside, Yoshiko huffed and snatched her arm out of Riko’s grasp.

“You shouldn’t be friends with them, they’re sabotaging us!” Yoshiko said.

“Yoshiko, they’re a bookstore. They’re not trying to actively take away our business,” Riko sighed. Out of all the employees, Yoshiko was the one who was the most adamant about hating the bookstore. Riko knew she was stubborn with her beliefs, but this hatred seemed pretty personal to her, so she didn’t push any further.

“It’s Yohane,” was all Yoshiko said in response before slinking off to the flower shop.

Riko frowned. She wasn’t the closest with Yoshiko, but she never wanted to hurt her feelings. Maybe she would bring her a cold brew later after her shift.

“Ah, Riko! There you are! I was worried you were sick today or something,” Chika said, bouncing up from the seat she had been occupying in the corner of the cafe.

“Oh, Chika-san. Have you ordered already?” Riko inquired, gladly accepting the distraction from the exchange with Yoshiko.

“Yes, Mari took my order, but I don’t think she made it…”

“I’ll get right on it then,” Riko said, bowing before scurrying behind the counter.

As Riko made the drink, she could feel Chika’s gaze following her every move. When Riko had first started working at the cafe, it had unnerved her a lot, but she came to grow used to it. Riko especially felt like her ability to make coffee art had improved over time with Chika’s enthusiastic reaction to her new drawings. She wished she had some way to thank Chika for pushing her to improve—even if it was unintentional.

Riko was not oblivious to Chika’s affection for her. She also knew Mari had been rooting for them to further their friendship, but it was not as easy for Riko to act upon her feelings as it was for Chika. Deep down, Riko knew she was scared of pushing for anything past a friendship with Chika. She had never been in a relationship before, and had no idea how to go about starting one. Mari tried giving her advice, but Mari was much more bold and independent than Riko was. For now, she settled with subtle flirting through the form of whipped cream.

“One caramel frappe!”

* * *

Sunset drive? No, too typical.

Pumpkin patch? But the display didn’t look like one.

It turns out coming up with a name for their display was much harder than Kanan anticipated. She frowned at the list of names she scribbled down on the notepad, with several of them scratched out. Her mind felt fuzzy lately, so that definitely didn’t help matters.

The fall festival was in two days, and the festival director wanted the businesses to set up their displays the day before to avoid any hassle the morning of the event. Kanan decided to take on the brunt of the work in preparing for the festival, much to the dismay of Mari. She had kept telling her not to be so harsh on herself, but Kanan couldn’t help but feel like this was a direct reflection of her ability as a business owner. If this didn’t give the shop a boost in promotion, Kanan would be near the end of her list of ideas to help sales.

Deciding she needed a break, she closed up the shop early as she had taken the afternoon shift alone. There were barely any people milling about anyways, and most of them were headed to the Kazunos’ restaurant across the street. Kanan allowed herself to bask in the warm rays of the setting sun for a moment before her gaze shifted to Numazu Books. She thought back to the encounter she had with You that morning. She was surprised that she wanted to browse in the shop before opening her own store. She was even more surprised that she was interested in the meaning of the flowers she was looking at. Perhaps it was a bit selfish, but she hoped that her pen pal shared the same interest in the flower facts she wrote about in their letters. In an even more selfish thought, she hoped her pen pal was as cute as You.

Not knowing where else to go, Kanan found herself wandering into the bookstore. There were still a handful of people browsing the shelves, which Kanan couldn’t help but feel jealous of. The mood of the bookstore was very different from the flower shop, and Kanan felt like a foreigner in the maze of steel furniture. It was much colder in the bookstore as well, and a shiver involuntarily went up Kanan’s spine as her halter top offered no warmth for her bare arms.

Purely by accident, Kanan meandered into the poetry section. She picked up a small book which happened to be a collection of haikus. Kanan smiled fondly, hoping to find a letter with a haiku in it at her apartment later that night. At this point, the letters were the only thing keeping her sane from all the stress of the past few months.

“See something you like?”

Kanan looked up at the mention of the line she had used that morning.

“Just browsing,” Kanan said, flashing a lopsided smile.

“That’s a good collection,” You nodded at the book Kanan was holding. “It helps me out when I’m stuck with my own writing.”

“You write?” Kanan asked. She shouldn’t be surprised; You worked with books on the daily.

“Yeah. It’s nothing special, just something I like to do in my free time,” You said, turning sheepish. Her cheeks turned the same peachy pink they had this morning when Kanan had showed up behind her while she was looking at flowers. It was cute.

“I’m sure you’re a great writer,” Kanan mumbled. She wasn’t sure if You had caught what she said, because she didn’t comment on the remark.

“I’d love to give you the book as a freebie like you did this morning, but I’m afraid Tsuki might kill me if I do that,” You chuckled.

“That’s alright. I already have a collection of poetry at my place,” Kanan said, puting the book back on the shelf.

“That’s too bad. Maybe you’ll check out our discounted selection at the festival?” You suggested, scanning Kanan’s face to gauge her reaction.

If she was trying to get a rise out of Kanan, it didn’t work. The comment didn’t seem to have any malice behind it. It sounded more hopeful, if anything.

“Maybe I will,” Kanan said.

“I’ll be waiting, then.”

* * *

Just as she had hoped, there was a letter waiting for her in her mailbox. Seeing the cute boxy writing instantly relieved some of the tension in Kanan’s shoulders. She should really take up Mari’s offer on a spa day, she thought regretfully.

Kanan carefully opened the letter as soon as she set foot in her apartment. It was pretty short, but she appreciated it immensely. After re-reading it several times on her way to her writing desk, one part in particular stood out to her.

_If I were reincarnated as anything I would wish to be reincarnated as someone who grew up with you_.

When Kanan had asked what her pen pal wanted to be reincarnated as, that was not the answer she was expecting. She felt the heat rising in her cheeks everytime she re-read it. That couldn’t be flirting, could it? The more she mulled it over in her head, the less likely she thought it could be anything but that. Kanan suddenly felt like she was back in high school, squealing into her pillow when she had a crush on the dive team’s captain. The butterflies in her stomach were fluttering fiercely and her cheeks were sore from smiling.

Kanan’s last few letters were pretty bold, but with a newfound confidence, she decided to take it up a notch.

_Dear poet,_

_Today’s flower is the freesia. They represent innocence and thoughtfulness. I chose this flower today because—as cheesy as it sounds—I’ve been thinking a lot about you. Our friendship has blossomed (no flower pun intended there) over the past year, and since it seems that we live close to each other now, I’ve thought about meeting you in person._

_I don’t want to force anything on you, though. I’ll still send letters to you even if you reject this idea, no hard feelings. But let me know!_

_Truly,  
A carnation_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am back with another update and this time it didn't take several months to post it!
> 
> I probably sound like a broken record at this point, but I really appreciate all the comments and kudos! <3


	6. Gardenia

Hanamaru always loved the fall festival. Not only could she start comfortably wearing long skirts and thick sweaters, but the air was ripe with the tempting aromas of the autumn delicacies. She could stuff herself to her heart’s content with candied sweet potatoes, apple cider, and all the various pumpkin dishes that were offered at seemingly every booth. And with the addition of the bookstore to Uchiura, there was now a perfect hangout spot for Hanamaru to eat and read happily.

Thankfully, Numazu Books decided to focus solely on the book selection for their booth rather than the coffee cart’s menu, so Hanamaru was free to roam around the festival with no responsibilities. Out of curiosity, Hanamaru went to check out Sea Breeze Bouquets’ booth. Under the old owner, their booth was always a big attraction due to the vibrant flower displays and special seasonal arrangements they offered, and Hanamaru was interested to see what they had come up with this year after transferring ownership.

On her way to the flower shop’s booth, she passed the bookstore’s booth which had a handful of people milling about the tables, much to Tsuki’s dismay. Hanamaru had rarely interacted with Tsuki, as she was mostly concerned with the operations of the bookstore rather than the coffee cart, but anytime she had a conversation with her, it struck a chord of fear into her heart. She was sure she was a nice person outside of their workplace, but Hanamaru would never know. Now that she thought of it, she wasn’t sure if she had ever seen her smile. The intimidating aura she gave wasn’t helped by the fact that she was wearing a heavy black blazer with equally drab slacks—a stark contrast to You, who was donning more festival-appropriate flannel and overalls. As if she knew Hanamaru was thinking about her, Tsuki’s eyes snapped to where Hanamaru was passing by and Hanamaru felt herself speeding up to pass by quicker.

She immediately let out a sigh of relief as she reached the flower shop’s booth, which had many more people buzzing around it. They had conjoined their booth with the cafe’s booth, akin to their actual setup in their permanent location. The joint booth gave off a wonderful mix of the scents of flowers and apple cider, enticing anyone passing by to come take a closer look. The whole booth was outfitted to resemble a sunset, complete with a large display of big yellow flowers clustered together to replicate the sun. Hanamaru once again felt a twinge of guilt for enjoying the display so much when she worked for their direct competitor, even though You had tried reaffirming several times that they weren’t competing for business. Hanamaru found that hard to believe when she could clearly see people forgoing browsing in the flower shop and instead opting for the bookstore when they walked down the street from her coffee cart.

_You shouldn’t be thinking about work_, Hanamaru scolded herself. _You’re here to enjoy yourself_.

To distract herself from the idea of work, Hanamaru spotted one of the tables at the booth dedicated to creating your own flower jar and decided to try it out. Sitting down at a vacant seat, she looked up to the employee working there and froze.

“Welcome to Sea Breeze Bouquets’ booth—” the employee cut off her introduction.

For what seemed like an hour, the two girls stared at each other incredulously.

“You,” the girl snarled. The horned headband she was wearing suddenly seemed very fitting.

“Um… Yoshiko, was it?” Hanamaru stammered, recalling her encounter with the girl on her first day of work. Since that day she had had several run ins with the gothic-dressed girl, and she should be used to her disposition by now. She clearly wasn’t.

“It’s Yohane to you, mortal,” the girl huffed, crossing her arms.

“Look, I’m not here to fight, I’m just enjoying your booth like everyone else…”

“Ha! You say that but work for our nemesis?” Yoshiko countered.

Her gaze was steely and Hanamaru found herself nervously fiddling with the bracelet she was wearing. Yoshiko’s gaze followed her hand movements and had her gaze linger on the bracelet. Hanamaru flinched under the sudden intense observation and shoved her hands under the table. Yoshiko’s expression was unreadable for a second, but she then seemed to get her bearings and switched back to her cold glare.

“I’ll go, okay. I just like reading and the bookstore was hiring so I took the job,” Hanamaru sighed, tired of explaining herself to this girl she barely even knew.

“No!” Yoshiko interjected. Hanamaru looked at her in surprise. Why the sudden turnaround?

“Make a flower jar. If you work for our competition, you must have been deemed worthy. I want to see your skills,” Yoshiko said, leaning back in her chair and squaring up her shoulders.

Hanamaru truly had no answer. So instead she obliged and took one of the plastic jars and started picking out the flowers scattered on the table and arranging them into a pretty little bouquet. Placing some of the decorative rocks at the bottom of the jar, she delicately placed the bouquet of soft pink and yellow flowers on top of it. It was pretty good, Hanamaru thought, especially when Yoshiko had been watching her so intensely. She pushed the jar towards Yoshiko as confirmation that she had finished. Yoshiko examined the jar carefully, and Hanamaru couldn’t help but feel like the way the girl was so attentive to detail but loyal to her place of employment was vaguely familiar. She couldn’t put her finger on why.

With a click of her tongue, Yoshiko delivered her verdict. “It’s alright. Arrangement is simple, but eye-catching. I guess you are a worthy opponent.”

“Opponent? I make coffee, not bouquets,” Hanamaru rebutted.

Yoshiko dismissed her comment with a wave of her hand. “That doesn’t matter. You should be honored that I’ve deemed you worthy to oppose me.”

Baffled with her schtick, Hanamaru decided to give up on trying to make sense of it and instead extended her hand. “I’m Hanamaru, by the way.”

Yoshiko studied her hand for a moment, then gingerly took it as if it was going to burn her. Her hands were much softer than Hanamaru anticipated.

“I’ve already told you my name. Now begone, before I change my mind about you.”

Not wanting to continue their argument, Hanamaru made her quick exit with her newly-made flower jar in tow. Yoshiko was an interesting character, and she had to admit that it gave a little spice to her relatively quiet life. With a small smile, she found that she didn’t mind it as much as she thought it would.

* * *

Tsuki needed a break.

As much as she hated to admit it, the bookstore’s booth wasn’t faring too well. They were still making a decent amount of sales, but nothing that went beyond any regular day at the bookstore. People mostly just browsed through the selections they had on display then moved on without buying anything. Once in a while, You would turn on her charm and get a big sale here and there. Tsuki was glad You had agreed to be the general manager—she had the sort of friendly and personable energy that Tsuki hadn’t been able to muster in a long time.

Since the festival had kicked off, Tsuki couldn’t help but keep a close eye on the flower shop’s booth. They hadn’t been placed too far from the bookstore’s location (a welcome change in Tsuki’s opinion), but they were still well within her field of vision. A strong sense of dismay had been building up over the course of the day, a feeling Tsuki hadn’t felt in a while. People flocked to the colorful booth, and most of their courses towards the flower booth included completely bypassing the bookstore’s display.

In the long run, she knew the festival wasn’t a make-or-break situation for her business, but she couldn’t help but feel disappointed by the weak showing at the event. Being the CEO of a chain store at a young age had taken years of hard work, and a less than desirable showing at an event that could help boost sales was not something Tsuki wanted to admit. She had promised herself to try as hard as she could to be successful in small town locations and expand the business’ reach across the country, and she definitely did not want to present lackluster results to the other head executives of the company that she had argued with since inheriting Numazu Books. She scoffed in annoyance at the thought of the other executives who had been pressuring her to expand the business’ reach. She was almost certain they were doubting her ability to help keep the company on the upward trend just to annoy her, and it was unfortunately working. If Tsuki was anything, she was stubborn.

“Tsuki, take a break. Go enjoy the festival for a little,” You said, tentatively patting her shoulder. Her eyes trailed off as she watched the customer who Tsuki had scared off from the booth with her scoff.

As much as she didn’t want to leave the booth, she knew You was right. You was bringing in more business for the booth than Tsuki was anyway. Plus, Tsuki was tired of watching the flower booth flourish when they were struggling.

Walking through the lively rows of booths, Tsuki let the enticing scents of food release the tension in her shoulders. A pang of guilt hit her as she remembered visiting the festival years ago with You. She had thoroughly enjoyed herself then, spending all the allowance her aunt and uncle had given her and You to buy whatever food they wanted. Maybe she had been too harsh with You earlier. But she shook her head. She couldn’t let nostalgia get in the way of her work life. Countering her own argument, she stopped in her tracks as the smell of fresh seafood, a food she had always savored growing up and gorged herself on when she visited You in Uchiura. Her feet moved on their own as she drifted closer to browse the delicacies, her stomach grumbling wistfully.

“You look hungry.”

Startled, Tsuki looked up to see a familiar face. Sarah smiled back at her playfully, elbows resting on the counter.

“Mmm-hmm,” was all Tsuki could muster.

“Well, I personally recommend the takoyaki or the grilled eel,” Sarah said.

“I’ll take an order of both,” Tsuki said immediately, pulling out her wallet.

Sarah laughed breezily. “That was easy.”

Tsuki didn’t respond. She was already focused on the idea of eating. You was right—she should enjoy herself a little bit.

Tsuki slid into a seat set up in front of the restaurant’s booth. She was too immersed basking in the savory smells wafting from the booth’s kitchen that she didn’t notice Sarah putting Tsuki’s order in front of her and once again inviting herself to sit across from her.

“Order up!” Sarah called, snapping Tsuki’s attention towards her.

The situation felt all too familiar. Tsuki cocked her head. “Shouldn’t you be manning the booth?”

Sarah shrugged. “Leah can handle herself for a little bit.”

Not knowing how else to carry on the conversation, Tsuki indulged herself in the flavors of the dishes she ordered. She let out a hum of satisfaction, something Sarah took note of. Tsuki had found herself going to the Kazunos’ restaurant on her lunch breaks whenever she felt particularly stressed, so it was only fitting that she had found herself at their booth just when she was feeling troubled. Sarah didn’t always sit with her, as her lunch breaks tended to be at the peak of rush hour, but when she didn’t Tsuki felt a weird longing in her chest. Even when Sarah did join her at her table—always uninvited, Tsuki noted—Tsuki was bad at conversing, but she appreciated the company. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was a little bit intimidated by the confident energy Sarah exuded. She could only hope she could replicate some semblance of that energy. Tsuki was certain she just enjoyed having someone else who knew the struggles of running a family business. Nothing more.

“You know, I always come into the restaurant but you haven’t been in the bookstore nearly as much,” Tsuki said, mustering up some courage to be playful.

“I’m friends with Sea Breeze Bouquet girls,” Sarah blinked, saying it very matter-of-factly.

The blunt statement immediately dampened Tsuki’s mood. She really didn’t need to be reminded of the flower shop right now. Her mood shift must have shown in her face, because Sarah coughed awkwardly before continuing.

“But if you want to hang out outside of our workplaces, you could always call me,” Sarah said in the same factual tone.

Tsuki nearly choked on her eel.

“Um, I don’t have your number,” Tsuki said.

Sarah smirked. “Oh, you’re so smooth, Tsuki.”

She held out her hand in a gesture Tsuki recognized as asking for her phone. Fumbling stupidly for the device in her blazer pocket, she tried covering up for her clumsy fingers by keeping a nonchalant face. It failed, as she could already feel the blood rushing to the tips of her ears. Sarah paid no heed to her bumbling actions as she typed her number into Tsuki’s contacts.

“I look forward to our date,” Sarah smiled, standing up from her seat.

Tsuki choked on her eel for real this time.

“Date?” she asked stupidly.

“Not romantically, silly,” Sarah teased.

“Ah, right.”

Maybe she was a little disappointed. Just a little, though.

“I’m sure there’s much more to you than the tough businesswoman who enjoys my wonderful cooking,” Sarah winked before leaving.

As much as Tsuki wanted to be completely focused on her work, it couldn’t hurt to have a friend outside of the bookstore.

“I guess you’ll have to see.”

* * *

Kanan was the happiest she had been in a while.

The booth at the festival had been doing astronomically well, making more sales in one day than the past couple of weeks combined. The mood was infectious, as she saw the rest of the girls smiling bigger and laughing more throughout the day. Kanan’s expansive knowledge about flowers and their meaning came especially handy as people ogled at the carefully crafted display of flowers. Just as much as she had arranged the flowers by color, she also picked ones with joyous and pleasant meanings and she was more than happy to explain that to the interested viewers. For once, she could explain her interest to her heart’s content somewhere other than her letters. Not that writing about it was any less satisfying, not in the slightest. But even though business was booming, Kanan could feel fatigue creeping in. She had been working nonstop the past couple of days to ensure the festival went well, and her feet were killing her.

“Chika, I’m going to take a break. Can you handle the booth for a little while?” Kanan asked the younger girl.

“Of course! Eat lots of yummy food for me!” Chika beamed.

Kanan nodded and headed out of the booth. Unsure of where to go, she remembered the half-promise she had made to You a couple days before. Kanan hadn’t even spared a thought of the bookstore the whole day, despite the business usually lurking in the back of her head most days. As Kanan neared the booth, she felt a sense of relief as she saw Tsuki wasn’t there. She would rather avoid a confrontation since she had been happy all day. There was nobody else at the booth besides You, who Kanan funnily thought looked more dressed to be working at the flower shop than she did.

“Ah, you came!” You exclaimed. Her smile reached her eyes, but Kanan could see a familiar glint of weariness in them. It was the same look Kanan has had in her eyes for the past couple months.

“I remember someone recommended checking out your discounts,” Kanan smiled softly.

“What a wise person,” You said.

Kanan scanned the books carefully, and her gaze lingered on a mystery book. Kanan always enjoyed a good mystery story. The thrill of the chase, flexing the brain muscles to find the culprit, and the sense of pride that came with guessing the perpetrator correctly.

“That’s a pretty good one,” You commented, following Kanan’s gaze. “I just read it recently and it really kept me at the edge of my seat.”

“Is that so?” Kanan said, picking the book up.

“It’s forty percent off, if you’re interested,” You said, turning her business-mode on.

Kanan felt it was only fair to give her some business when You had wandered into the flower shop just days before. Taking out some cash, Kanan paid for the book and slipped it under her arm.

“Thank you,” You said. Kanan wondered how much business they had gotten throughout the day, given You’s relieved tone.

“If I finish this, who will I talk about it with?” Kanan asked dramatically.

“Well, I heard there’s this employee at the bookstore who just read it recently,” You said, playing along easily.

“Hmm, I guess I’ll have to go bother them then.”

“I heard she’s very open to conversation.”

Kanan smiled. Even though the bookstore had been the source of her stress since it opened, it was good to know that their staff was personable. Her feelings of resentment—which she tried hard to suppress in order to maintain a civil demeanor—had subsided slowly the more she talked to You. It was a welcome feeling.

“It’s your turn,” You piped up.

“What?”

“It’s your turn to recommend something for me,” You said, nodding towards the book Kanan was holding.

“Ah,” Kanan said. She wracked her brain for a flower that could encompass their blossoming friendship.

“Gardenia,” Kanan said. “They represent joy and sweetness.”

You smiled at the recommendation. Kanan hoped she didn’t look too far into the meaning online; they could also represent secret love. Not that she was secretly in love with her. No, that honor belonged to someone else.

“Maybe I’ll have to look for some of those later,” You said, implying another visit to the flower shop.

Kanan had a stupid grin on her face at the idea.

* * *

_Dear flower,_

_I’m more than happy to meet you in person! If I’m being honest, I’ve also been thinking about meeting you for a while now. I guess my move has been convenient in more ways than one. Send me the time and place, and I’ll be there!_

_A flower blossoms  
The weather is nice today  
I think I’ll go out_

_Always,  
A bookworm_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> enjoy this chapter full of autumn vibes and furthering relationships hehe... things will definitely start ramping up from here!
> 
> however, college is once again starting soon but hopefully since it's online for the most part, I will still find the time (and motivation) to keep writing! thank you once again for all the support on this fic, it means the world to me <3


	7. Heather

_Dear poet,_

_Heather represents beauty and admiration, but meanings from the Victorian era include wishes coming true._

_Homura Bakery. 7 pm. I’ll have a purple heather in my hair._

_Truly,  
A carnation_

* * *

She shouldn’t have had coffee today.

Kanan’s heart already felt like it was beating too fast due to the increase in business following the success of the fall festival display and the letter she had just dropped off at the post office confirming the meeting place for her and her longtime pen pal. The caffeine only fanned the flames that engulfed her whole chest.

“Are you okay?” Riko asked, curiously watching Kanan down her americano.

Kanan gave her an ambiguous smile. “I’m okay.”

Unconvinced, Riko turned back to her work behind the cafe counter.

Kanan spent her break watching the people file in and out of the flower shop, a content smile on her face. For what seemed like the first time in forever, both cash registers were being manned at the same time for the influx of customers. Chika and Yoshiko both had wide smiles on their faces as they helped ring up customers, and Mari and Riko also had their hands full as most customers filtered into the cafe after shopping at the flower store.

The profits of the flower shop were finally not at the forefront of her mind, and Kanan allowed her thoughts to drift to the prospect of meeting the person that she had been hopelessly crushing on for the past year. Her heart already skipped a beat at the idea of meeting them, but now it was finally becoming a reality the next day. Kanan hoped they had more dating experience than herself; she had always put work before her personal life and the last time she “dated” someone was the pseudo-girlfriend she had in high school that she only ever kissed once. Not that she was a bad kisser. Mari had made sure that she wasn’t (their kissing practice had been completely platonic, Mari had assured Dia). Now that she thought more about it, Kanan was sorely out of practice in the whole dating department.

“You look like you need advice,” Mari announced, as if she had read Kanan’s thoughts.

Kanan didn’t question her sudden appearance. Even though she famously had a stoic resting expression, Mari could always sense when she needed help.

“When you first started dating Dia, how did you act?” Kanan asked.

“I acted like I always did, silly. Helplessly in love!” Mari answered simply.

“Ah…” She should’ve expected that answer.

“But for someone like you, I would say to express your feelings outright. You are terrible at doing that, so just start out with it to avoid any misunderstandings,” Mari continued. Kanan huffed. Mari wasn’t wrong, but she would rather not have her flaws pointed out so bluntly.

“I’m not a big romantic,” Kanan sighed. “I’m also not great with words.”

“That’s funny coming from someone who likes to read. Anyways, words come easy to you when talking about flowers. Start off with a sappy flower confession or something,” Mari shrugged. “Who’s the date with? The cute girl from the bookstore?”

Kanan choked.

“What? No, we’re just friendly. It’s someone I’ve been talking to for a while now,” Kanan said.

“If being friendly includes constantly going to each other’s competing stores, then sure,” Mari scoffed.

“We’re not competing.”

“I’m happy for you, though, Kanan,” Mari said softly.

Kanan smiled. “Thank you. I’m still super nervous, though.”

“Well, if you’ve been talking for a while now, I’m sure everything will be fine. It’s not like they’re just some stranger you found on the internet.”

Kanan’s smile faltered. Mari gasped.

“Kanan, really? I never thought someone as cautious as you would date _online_!” she exclaimed, drawing the eyes of some curious bystanders. Kanan hurriedly put a finger up to her mouth to signal her friend to quiet down.

“Hey! Dating online is pretty common now. Plus, it’s not online. They’re through letters!” Kanan defended herself.

“Letters? What is this, the dark ages? Do you have a carrier pigeon to deliver them?” Mari snorted.

“I’m sorry that I prefer handwriting over typing!”

“You’re certainly something, Kanan,” Mari laughed. “Now that I think more about it, this raises the tension so much more! Two people falling in love through words and bam! They meet and both end up being ogres or something.”

“Are you comparing me to an ogre?” Kanan hissed.

“Not at all! I’m just saying, what if they end up being an ogre or something?”

“You know I’m not that superficial, Mari.”

“Or they could be like the cute bookstore girl.”

“For the last time, I don’t have a crush on You,” Kanan said. Although she wouldn’t mind if her pen pal ended up looking like her.

“I never said which bookstore girl.”

“Well, who else would you be referring to? The CEO lady?” Kanan sighed. “She’s more…”

“Scary,” Kanan and Mari said in unison.

“Riko looks like she’s drowning in orders, so my counseling session has ended,” Mari announced, getting up as suddenly as she had appeared. “I wish you luck on your date, my liege!”

Kanan only rolled her eyes at Mari’s continued teasing. Kanan had certainly tussled with the idea that her pen pal might not look exactly what she thought of. She never had much of an idea of what she might look like in the first place, but lately that faceless image had begun to resemble someone who looked a lot like You. But she didn’t have a crush on You. She was just cute, that was all. Kanan could appreciate that, right?

* * *

Ruby sneezed for what felt like the hundredth time in the past hour. Her nose was now the same color as her hair, which looked like a rat had made its home in it.

She wasn’t sure if her cold had come from standing outside at the fall festival for too long (even though Dia had made sure that she was wearing way too many layers for the cold) or from simply overworking. But if her working five days of the week was considered overworking by her body, then Kanan must be some sort of machine. She had no time to ponder over the source of her illness, though. In fact, her brain felt too mushy to clearly think about anything.

It felt too mushy to even register the fact that the doorbell rang.

Letting out a string of gibberish and groans, Ruby hauled herself up from her cozy spot on the couch to answer the door. Sure, she was donning bright pink pajamas and fuzzy slippers but she didn’t really care.

“Hello,” Ruby grunted as she opened the door, eyes still bleary.

“You look terrible.”

Standing in front of her was Leah, both hands carrying bags filled with takeout containers. For a moment, Ruby thought she looked like an angel coming to save her from her misery. Then she snapped back to her senses.

“Leah, I’m sick! What are you doing here?” Ruby shrieked.

Leah paid no mind to her outburst and shrugged her way past Ruby into her house. “Yoshiko told me you were sick so I brought you food.”

Knowing that there was no way she would be able to get Leah out of her house, Ruby wearily shuffled towards the kitchen where Leah had plopped down the food. She suddenly felt more conscious about what she was wearing and wrapped her arms around her abdomen.

“That’s a lot of food for me…” Ruby trailed off, looking at the several containers of food that Leah was spreading across the kitchen counter.

“It’s not just for you,” Leah snorted.

Ruby just gawked at her. “I told you I’m sick!”

“So you’d rather eat alone?” Leah asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No!” Ruby yelped. She swears that she never has this many outbursts when she talks to any one else.

“Alright, so I’m eating with you.”

Too tired to continue to argue, Ruby decides to just dig into the food. It tasted really good (despite her stuffy nose) and warmed her insides. It was nice, Ruby thought. To just sit in her kitchen quietly and eat with Leah, as they were both comfortable with the silence. If this had happened when they first met, they would probably be arguing over the smallest things and have their older sisters pull them apart. Ruby wouldn’t mind if Leah came around more often.

“Sarah’s become close with the bookstore owner,” Leah started once they had both finished eating. Ruby nodded to let her continue.

“I guess she’s getting more agitated because the bookstore’s sales didn’t increase after the fall festival. But since the flower shop’s did, she’s viewing you as more of a competitor.”

“Kanan says we’re not competitors,” Ruby said.

“Tell that to the bookstore people,” Leah scowled. “Sarah says that they’re gearing up for some sort of event to curb public opinion on them. But don’t tell your friends where you got that information from.”

Ruby furrowed her brow. Some sort of event? What were they planning on doing and why would it affect the bookstore?

“I don’t like that Tsuki lady. Sarah says she’s just stressed but I’m not sure if I buy that,” Leah continued.

“She can’t be… evil, right?” Ruby said, wanting to give the benefit of the doubt.

She had only ever seen glimpses of Tsuki and while she did have a menacing aura around her, Ruby figured she couldn’t be _that_ bad. It was truly a wonder that she was even related to the bookstore manager, You. But then again, some people did say that about her and Dia.

“I wouldn’t say that, but I’m certain she’s up to no good,” Leah said. “I have to get back to work. I’ll see you around, Ruby.”

Ruby attempted to stand up, but much too quickly and nearly ended up falling over. Leah put a hand on her shoulder to steady her, and a quick flash of worry showed in her eyes.

“I can show myself out. Take care of yourself,” Leah said after sitting Ruby back down.

She had softened her tone, and it was rare occasions like this where she showed moments of softness that Ruby wondered if they could be anything more than friends. But she wouldn’t tell her that.

* * *

In a perfect world, Chika would have confidently asked Riko to dinner and confessed her feelings to her like the climactic scene in a romance movie.

In reality, Chika’s palms were sweating and her eyes glazed over as she watched Riko take customers orders. Ever since the rush of business following the success of the fall festival, Chika’s only interactions with Riko had been fleeting conversations as she ordered her daily drink on her breaks and a muted nod goodbye as they closed up shop for the day. It was odd that Chika was this nervous about doing something, as she usually tackled challenges with the utmost confidence. Sure, maybe some nerves were normal for everyone, but being _this_ apprehensive to do something was a foreign feeling. But Chika was sick of the longing feeling in her chest that had been plaguing her for the past few days, and with some encouragement from Mari (always the one to keep tabs on the other girls), she had steeled her nerves enough to come up with the plan of asking Riko out. The plan only went as far as Chika asking Riko to go on a walk with her down by the beach after they finished their shifts and Chika confessing her feelings somewhere along that walk. After that, she would have to improvise.

“One caramel frappe!” Riko called out Chika’s regular order.

Gathering up all the confidence she could muster, Chika marched towards the counter. Riko looked at her curiously, and Chika thought that she must have looked as stiff as a Lego person walking up to get her order. So much for looking cool.

“Are you okay?” Riko asked.

“Yes! I’m feeling great!” Chika said with a little too much forced positivity. Riko’s look of concern didn’t go away.

Chika coughed awkwardly. “I was wondering if you… um… would like to hang out? After we’re done working?”

If Riko had figured out what Chika wanted to do with this “hangout,” she didn’t show it. Instead, she gave a soft smile that crinkled her eyes into half-crescents and sent Chika’s heart beating into overdrive.

“I would like that,” Riko said.

Any sort of cool and chic facade that Chika had hoped to put up immediately crumbled, and she beamed with her usual ear-to-ear grin. Step one of her plan: complete.

Continuing on with step two of her plan had an agonizing wait in between, and Chika was terrible at masking her emotions. She went through the motions of helping customers with a fraction of her usual enthusiasm, mentally saving her emotional bank for her plan later that afternoon. But her being even a percent less enthusiastic was cause for concern for her coworkers.

“What’s wrong with you?” Yoshiko hissed as the shop was empty for the first time that day.

“What do you mean?” Chika yelped, alarmed by Yoshiko’s accusatory tone.

“You look like you’re being held captive here,” she answered.

“You know I love working here!” Chika pouted.

“Yeah, but the customers don’t know that.”

“Funny you’re telling me that when you try to recruit all of them to be your demons,” Chika shot back. She wasn’t usually one to snap back, but her nerves were running high right now.

“At least I’m consistent,” Yoshiko huffed, obviously finding some truth in Chika’s retort.

It worked, however, and Yoshiko uncharacteristically dropped the argument. In fact, Yoshiko had seemed a lot more lax in Chika’s recent memory, even dropping outright confronting the poor girl at the bookstore’s coffee cart in exchange for just watching her intently from the front door of the flower shop. Everyone’s moods seemed to have changed drastically since the fall festival, either for the better or for worse. In Chika’s case, it definitely felt like her mood was worse; her nerves felt like they were vibrating her entire body as she watched the clock tick slowly.

After what seemed like an eternity, Kanan closed up the shop and effectively freed Chika for the rest of the day. Chika basically sprinted outside and found Riko already waiting for her, the late afternoon breeze gently rustling her hair.

“Chika-san, are you ready to head out?” Riko asked.

“Yup!” Chika beamed. “The beach is nice this time of day.”

Riko just nodded and followed Chika’s lead as they headed down to the beach. The streets were empty as most of the people who would be milling around the town were absent, probably in one of the restaurants or gone back to their homes for the day. The sky became a dark orange as they reached soft sand on the shore, a muted pink kissing the horizon signaling the fading daylight. They had been silent during their walk, and Chika was afraid that Riko might have been able to hear the drum pounding in her chest as she psyched herself up.

But Riko spoke before Chika could even open her mouth. “Do you have a dream, Chika?”

All of Chika’s thoughts flew out the window at the sudden question. Any steam she had built up dissipated in an instant.

“Of course! I want the flower shop to be successful,” Chika answered confidently, smiling at Riko. She found that Riko was instead staring out at the horizon. The muted pink was now darker, bleeding farther into the orange sky.

“Is that all you want?” Riko asked.

_I want you_, Chika thought to herself. She didn’t say it.

“Well, I’m not sure. It would be nice to keep working for the flower shop, though,” Chika said, not nearly as confident as before.

“That’s… a start,” Riko said wistfully. “I’m not sure what I want.”

Not sure how to respond, Chika resorted to shifting the sand around with her feet. It was getting darker by the minute, and Chika didn’t want to make Riko walk home in the dark. It was now or never.

“There is one thing I would like,” Chika started slowly, raising her eyes from the ground back towards the sky that was getting more red.

“And what is it?”

“I would like it if we could go on a date,” Chika blurted, far less eloquent than she had practiced in her head. “If you want to, that is.”

Silence followed. Chika gathered the confidence to look at Riko’s reaction. Riko stared blankly at Chika, her eyes not allowing any sort of emotion, not even a clue as to what she was thinking. The breeze had picked up and whipped both of their hair into their face, further obscuring any emotion that might’ve flashed across Riko’s face. Chika fought the urge to reach out and grab Riko’s hands, which were tightly clasped together in front of her.

Finally, an answer.

“I’m sorry.”

Before Chika could say anything, Riko turned heel and ran. The sound of her shoes clicking against the sidewalk pavement was deafening in her ears. She felt tears well up in her eyes, and she bit her lip to try and stop them from falling. She knew rejection was a possibility, but she didn’t think it would hurt as bad as this. Especially since Riko offered no explanation as to why.

As Chika walked home alone, the sky turned to an angry purple.

* * *

You knew everyday couldn’t be busy, but slow business days were so _boring_.

She spent most of her shift reorganizing books on the shelves, even though she knew they were already perfectly in order. Behind the counter, she built up a tiny sculpture made out of paperclips. Any potential customers that had been coming in for the past couple days ended up just browsing then departing empty-handed. For once, You knew how Kanan had felt.

The fall festival hadn’t gone terribly well for the bookstore, and You knew they failed to make any sort of image improvement. It felt terrible, especially as she was the one who was supposed to be taking care of this particular store. But it had made Tsuki even more irritated than before, if that had even been possible. She spent most of her shift locked in her office upstairs brainstorming ways to improve sales, while You took care of the customers who came in, however sparse they were. The only thing keeping Tsuki from possibly snapping at You was Sarah, who had been coming by more often to whisk Tsuki away. Tsuki swore they weren’t dating, but it seemed pretty cut and dry to You. 

She didn’t pry into it, because her mind was more preoccupied with her date later that afternoon. The letter she received last night had been short but twisted You’s guts in excitement. 

_Homura Bakery. 7 pm. I’ll have a purple heather in my hair_.

You had read the letter several times over again, until its contents were burned into her memory. They really were going to meet, after over a year of writing to each other. Her excitement made her boring shift even worse, as the minutes seemed to stretch into hours before they ticked by. When the store was empty, You tried to pass the time by looking up pictures of heathers and imagining how beautiful they would look in her pen pal’s hair.

You then thought of the brilliant idea to bring a flower of her own to their meeting. She thought back to a few days prior, when she asked Kanan to recommend a flower to her. Gardenia, she had said. They represented joy and sweetness, if she had remembered correctly. Hopefully they were in season. Quickly checking around the store to make sure there was no one there, You figured it wouldn’t hurt to pop over to the flower shop and pick up a gardenia. It would take a few minutes, maybe. Maybe a little more if Kanan was working.

On her way out, she was greeted by the sidewalk being occupied by men carrying boxes and putting them in front of the bookstore. The commotion had attracted several bystanders’ attention, and even Hanamaru had stopped fiddling with the coffee machines to watch. Usually You would try to break up any sort of disturbance and get everyone back to work, but even she didn’t know what was going on. Pushing through the line of workers who were bringing the boxes out of a truck, she found Tsuki proudly watching them set up a table of books at the storefront.

“Tsuki, what’s happening?” You questioned.

“Ah, there you are! I’ve thought of a great way to boost sales!” Tsuki exclaimed.

“And how do you plan to do that, exactly?” You asked, trying to take a peek into one of the boxes.

“You know the fall festival was a hit for a lot of people, and what was the biggest attraction to it besides the food?” Tsuki said, quizzing You instead of outright answering her.

You shrugged in response, still trying to look at what Tsuki had ordered. She was a little peeved she hadn’t told her before setting all this up. She was the general manager of the store, wasn’t she?

“The flowers!” Tsuki answered.

You’s face paled. She wouldn’t, right?

You took a box that one of the workers had set down and ripped it open. Staring back at her was stacks of books, all having to do with how to care for flowers of your own or describing the different types of flowers in different regions. She slammed it closed before anyone could see, but she was too late. As she looked up from the box, she saw the commotion had attracted the attention of the employees of the flower shop and cafe. She scanned their faces frantically, trying to say sorry through her eyes. Her eyes finally landed on Kanan. Her gaze was steely; You felt like she was being burned by the laser focus of her stare. She stepped forward to say something, but Kanan had already turned away and stalked back into the flower shop. The shop was now as unwelcoming towards her as it had been months ago.

“This is genius, isn’t it?” Tsuki said, clapping her hands together. “Since the fall festival didn’t go so well for us, I was thinking that we could hold our own festival—a book festival!”

“Why didn’t you tell me first?” You said, anger laced between her words.

Tsuki regarded her coolly, unaffected by her tone. “We needed to boost sales quickly. Plus, I’m still your boss.”

You squeezed her eyes shut, flashes of red spotting her vision behind her eyelids. She was never one to get angry, but things going on behind her back _especially_ when she’s supposedly the one in charge, pissed her off to no end. Maybe the sayings warning people of family business had some truth to them.

“If you have everything under control here, then you don’t need me right now,” You said, forcing a smile. She tossed the store keys to Tsuki, who paid no mind to her tone and caught them easily.

You shoved her hands into her pockets to hide her fists balling up and walked home. Right now, she had something more important to worry about.

* * *

It had grown cold after the sun had set, and You found herself shoving her hands into her pockets again—but this time it was out of nervousness instead of anger.

She had spent the last hours trying to calm down in the privacy of her apartment. Once the anger had subsided, she found herself worrying over how Kanan was feeling. She probably hated her now, even after You had tried so hard to befriend her and make sure that they weren’t enemies. Now it was all down the drain, and You found herself being angry again. After being able to calm down _again_, she then started worrying over her meeting that night. Her idea of getting a gardenia was ruined. Going into the flower shop was now out of the question, and You doubted she would even make it through the front door without being tackled by one of their employees. Then she spotted the vase on her kitchen counter, and saw that the aster Kanan had given her as a freebie was sitting there, still as vibrant a purple as the day she received it. It would have to do.

Now, You was outside the location her pen pal had picked. The sign that read _Homura Bakery_ glowed a soft red in the moonlight and You felt a chill go up her spine. A gentle yellow light spilled out from the cafe’s windows, and anytime someone made their way inside, the scent of freshly baked red bean buns wafted out. The calming aesthetic of the cafe suddenly seemed overwhelming to You’s heightened senses. A purple heather in her hair. That’s all she had to look for.

But as she stared at the cafe’s door, her limbs were frozen in place. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t do this. But she _had_ to. What would her pen pal think of her if she stood her up? She couldn’t lose two friends in one day.

“I’ll just pass by and look casually,” You muttered to herself. Just a quick driveby to make sure she was actually there, and not some figment of her imagination.

Forcing herself to move, her heavy limbs suddenly sped up as she quickly passed the cafe’s windows. Her arms felt itchy. You breathed in deeply as she glanced into the windows and caught a glimpse of purple. So she actually was there. She could scratch that itch now. She panted as she reached the other side of the storefront, and braced herself to cross again before going in. Just to make sure. She forced her legs to move slower this time, so she could actually look at who the purple flower belonged to. As her eyes landed on the woman with the flower in her hair, You nearly tripped over her own feet. 

No, this wasn’t right. This couldn’t be right.

You peeked into the window just to make sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her. But lo and behold, the woman with the purple heather in her hair was there. And it was Kanan.

You’s heart sank to her feet. She couldn’t possibly face Kanan _now_, of all times.

Even though part of her was thrilled that Kanan was the one she had been in love with for the greater part of the year, she couldn’t face her now. Kanan probably hated her guts.

It wasn’t fair, You thought. She watched as Kanan sat alone at a table, the purple heather perfectly sitting behind her ear. She was wearing a sweater adorned with a pretty floral pattern and the cafe lights seemed to give her a soft glow around her. She was flipping through the mystery book she had bought from You, her eyes switching from reading the words on the page and looking at the door anytime it opened to another customer. She was beautiful, You thought.

_Truly_

_A carnation_.

Kanan was the carnation. And You was the poet she hated. Even if she didn’t know it yet.

You considered turning around and leaving right then and there. But she couldn’t leave Kanan sitting alone. It would be too cruel, to betray her trust not once, but _twice_ in one day.

She was in love with Kanan.

You laughed in spite of herself. Fate was twisted.

“I can’t leave,” You said.

And she opened the cafe door and walked in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the angst... I promise it will be resolved
> 
> i'm pretty proud of this chapter, even though it's very angst-filled. i'm excited for the upcoming chapters, as storylines are finally coming to their climax!
> 
> also, I've revamped my twitter to post about my writing/writing updates! my @ is kalespia, same as my user here, so follow me if you want to yell at me about my writing or whatever :)


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